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Morgan Calls For Head On Response Says Winning Trophies Not Above Fighting Racism In Cricket

Morgan calls for 'head on' response, says winning trophies not above fighting racism in Cricket

England world cup winning captain Eoin Morgan has condemned the racism fiasco at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and called for a “head-on” response to the matter that he rated of an “extreme nature”. He went on to say that dealing with such issues rank highly on his priority list than winning global trophies and batted for “significant change” that would have a bigger impact than successful careers at the international level.

He said the game of cricket does not deserve issues such as the one that unfolded with Azeem Rafiq at Yorkshire and said that the culture of the England team is built on “inclusivity and diversity”.

"In matters of an extreme or serious nature like these are, they need to be met head on," Morgan said. "For us as a team, that's exactly what we want to see. The investigation's ongoing and live at the moment so only time will tell what happens, but I think the actions by the board have demonstrated how seriously the ECB are taking how this has been handled. Yes, we want to see the sport in a great light but equally, if there's an issue as serious as this we want it dealt with as well.

"First and foremost, probably more so for the last two to three years, our culture has been built around inclusivity and diversity. It's actually been quite a strong part of our game. For that period of time, we have been active about talking and actioning things that show meaningful change.

"Being a part of the significant change [is something] that we feel will lead to something that will be bigger than any of our careers or any of the trophies that we win"

"We are very serious about it. We firmly believe that there is no place in our sport for any type of discrimination, and I think the actions of the ECB board to Yorkshire have indicated how serious they are about dealing with issues like this."

There have been recent developments in the racism row at Yorkshire with multiple names made in the report made by the county being made public. First, Gary Ballance came forward admitting he was the one named for calling Azeem a “P..i” and then former England Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan came out saying he has been named in the report.

However, Vaughan denied allegations and said that he never made those remarks against Azeem or other players of Asian origin and Ballance termed his words as part of exchanges between two very close friends who interact with each other in a lot of “inappropriate words”.

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I believe life is a circle: Ashwin says he wanted to prove a point to himself in this T20 World Cup

Ravichandran Ashwin, who played a crucial role in India restricting Afghanistan to only 144 in defence of India’s 210 and boosting the team‘s net run rate, feels that life is a circle and although he has not yet fully come around, getting a chance in the T20 World Cup 2021 was a big boost to his confidence in his approach of reinventing his bowling. "I had special dreams getting into the World Cup, wanting to do special things for the team and after a point in time, trying to prove a point, whether right or wrong, not to anybody else but to yourself,” he said in a pre-match press conference before India’s clash against Scotland in Dubai. "I believe life is a circle, for some people, it's a small one, for some it's large. It's definitely not in our hands. For me, understanding patterns in my life and career is something I've done very well over the last couple of years,” Ashwin said dwelling upon the philosophical aspect of his life. “Whenever I've had a very good stretch of form, I've had deep trenches, some very long periods of lull which I don't want to read too much into. That's a pattern I've embraced,” added the 35-year-old. Hustling and staying humble are the two things that are critical to a person’s success, be it in life or in sports and Ashwin agreed to it. He also cited the examples of two greats Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar on how to remain humble at high and work hard at lows. "Staying humble through good periods of success is a statement lot of people make, but I've firmly embraced it and lived it. Shane Warne once said you experience success 33% of the time in your career. Sachin [Tendulkar] has also echoed that at some stage, so who am I, I am no different. "The easiest way to cope with it, to go through a professional circle like that is to keep preparing keep working hard, expecting an opportunity to turn up at your doorstep one day and when it happens you have all the options to break open doors, latches and locks. That's what life is all about, so live for those days and keep preparing as that day will come,” he said. The Tamil Nadu born also dwelled upon the importance of not losing hope no matter what, saying that the fruits of hope and perseverance might not bore easily, but eventually it will. "It's easy to lose hope and motivation, come to those doors, hide behind them and keep complaining. That's something I will definitely not do because for me it's not about what the game has given me. It's about what I've given to the game and how much I enjoy playing the game. For me, if you put three stumps anywhere and ask me to play the game at this stage of my life, I'd do it most times,” he said.

Tim Paine making rapid strides towards full fitness before Ashes series at home

Australia Test captain Tim Paine is making rapid strikes to get back on the cricket field after his neck surgery in order to prepare for the first Test of the Ashes series due to start on December 08 in Brisbane. Paine said that he would test his fitness in as many as four games including a game of the Sheffield Shield and Marsh ODI Cup for Tasmania before taking the field in the Ashes series. Although he won’t be available for the next round of the Sheffield game for Tasmania starting November 10, the postponement of the only Test against Afghanistan has allowed him more time away from the international game and to prove his fitness. Now, he will have the opportunity to feature the Sheffield clash against Western Australia starting November 21 and the Marsh cup fixture against the same opponent on November 26 in Hobart. "Ideally, I'd like to play a club game, a 2nd XI game, a Shield game, and a one-dayer for Tassie in late November and then go up to Queensland," Paine said. "Potentially I'm getting two, three or four games of cricket in before that first Test which would be a really good result,” Paine told SEN Hobart radio station. He has also said that the training has been going flawless for him and he does not have any difficulty in moving around the field and diving as well. He said that apart from the normal stiffness that players pick up due to a long time away from the game, he has not been dealing with any major issue and will be back soon playing competitive cricket on the field. "I had a decent catch yesterday, pretty good," Paine said. "I had a bit of a dive around yesterday, so I'm a little bit stiff today."It's nothing to worry about, just a bit of stiffness having had a few months off. I've pulled up a bit sore. But yesterday was as I would train normally, so it's a really good sign that I got through that and I'm looking forward to playing a game of cricket in the coming weeks." A lot is riding on Tim Paine’s shoulder in the upcoming Ashes series at home after he became the only captain to lose the Test series to India at home and especially, the defeat the last summer raised many questions about his role and place in the side. He would be desperate to make a strong comeback in the Ashes series and sign off on a high as the series could also be a swansong for the cricket who made his debut way back in the year 2010.

Cape Town to host third Test between India and South Africa

There is a change in the venue for the third Test between India and South Africa as announced by Cricket South Africa. India are slated to travel to South Africa for a three Tests, three ODIs and four T20Is. The third and final Test will be held in Cape Town instead of Johannesburg from January 3. The Test series which will start on December 17 is a part of the second cycle of the World Test Championship. "CSA is excited to welcome India back to South Africa, which also significantly marks the 30th anniversary of South Africa's first tour to India after re-entry into International Cricket in 1991. This tour affirms our unique relationship with the BCCI," Graeme Smith, CSA's Director of Cricket, said. "This tour comes at a fitting moment when Cricket South Africa, together with the people of the world celebrate Mahatma Gandhi's 152nd birthday. We are indeed indebted to India for its support to our cricket efforts over the years. We are looking forward to hosting our guests for what promises to be nail-biting on-field encounters," CSA Acting Chief Executive Officer Pholetsi Moseki said. The ODI series will begin in Paarl on January 11 while the second and third ODI are scheduled to be played in Cape Town on January 14 and 16 respectively. The two sides will then play each other in the T20I series, beginning on January 19 in Cape Town.

Azeem Rafiq's racism row: Michael Vaughan denies allegations, Naved-ul-Hasan contests his claims

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has come forward to admit that he is the former player named the report prepared by the Yorkshire County Cricket Club into the allegations of racism levied by the former leg spinner Azeem Rafiq. However, he has denied all the allegations against him that he was involved in hurling racist slurs to players of Asian origins such as Azeem. Reportedly, Vaughan has been blamed for saying "too many of you lot, we need to do something about it" to Azeem while they were playing together for Yorkshire in the year 2009. “I completely and categorically deny that I ever said those words. I have nothing to hide. The ‘you lot’ comment never happened. Anyone trying to recollect words said 10 years ago will be fallible but I am adamant those words were not used. If Rafiq believes something was said at the time to upset him then that is what he believes.” However, his claims of innocence have been contested by Rana Naved-ul-Hasan of Pakistan, who was playing with both of them at Trent Bridge at that time. He has confirmed to ESPNcricinfo about hearing “too many of you lot” comments from Vaughan and reiterated his commitment to providing evidence to inquiry if he is asked for. The racism saga is refusing to be brushed under the carpet and the gloves are off on sides for Yorkshire, who have been suspended from hosting major games such as the international ones and the Hundred games by the ECB. Earlier, Gary Ballance had come forward to admit that he is the player mentioned in the report who hurled words such as “P..i” to Azeem while their playing days at the club. However, he too claimed innocence and said that it was “inappropriate” words to exchange between friends who spend a lot of time together and that he was unaware of the impact those words had on Azeem’s life.